Oil engine



Nov. 27 1923.

Filed Nov; 1920 T. B. DANCKWORTT OIL ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 k? 7 15 1a Q 7 f I? 2/ za /5 70 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 2?, 192a oFFicE.

THOMAS B." nancxwoar r, or sEAr'rLE, WASHINGTON, nssrenon or ONE-HALF To JoH v NICOLAYSEN.

011'. Enema;

Application filed November 16, 1920. Serial No. 424,354.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS B. DANCK- won'rr, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of Seattle, county of King, State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inv Oil Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in 1 internal combustion engines, especially engDines of that type known as Diesel or semiiesel. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in ignition systems of heavy oil burning engines.

The principal object of the present invention resides in the provision of a fuel ignition device, applicable to engines of the above character, of eitherthe two or four cycle type, and of either the low or high compression type, which by its use provides for the elimination of the usual complicated high pressure fuel pumps, air compressors and their piping, special starting and idling devices on low compression engines, etc., and 2'5 thereby reduces the cost of manufacturing and makes operation simple and foolproof, with a minimum of interference with the standard designs of cylinders, pistons and combustion chambers.

A further object of the invention resides. in the provision of a device of the above character which insures positive ignition at all times and under varying loads, insures fuel economy, prevents losses due to refrigeration and imperfect va orization, which provides for high therma and mechanical efliciency and avoids lubricating difliculties.

More specifically, the object of this invention resides in the provision of a fuel receiving-cup within the cylinder head of an engine into which fuel charges are admitted and which has a plurality of spray openings into the combustion chamber, and wherein means is provided whereby super-compressed and super-heated air is discharged into this cupto thereby ignite the charge so that the following explosion will cause the remaining fuel to be sprayed through the cupopening, in a finely atomized condition, into the i combustion chamber;

In accomplishin these and other objects of the invention, T have provided the imroved details of construction, the preferred orms'of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a transverse, sectional view of an internal combustion en 'ne embodying mechanism constructed an assembled according to the present invention; showing the parts in the positions they assume at the end ofa compression stroke of the piston.

Figure 2 is a, detail sectional view of the cylinder head, showing the relative position of the parts at the beginning of the compression stroke.

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to that of Figure 1, illustrating the application of the present mechanism to a high compression type of engine.

Referring more in detail to the several views of the drawings- 1 designates a water jacketed housing forming a cylinder 2 wherein a piston 3 is mounted for reciprocation. This piston is operatively connected 'bv means of a connecting rod 4 with a crank shaft 5 that isro- -tatably mounted in the crank case 6 at the lower end of the housing 1.

On the upper end of the cylinder casing, is a water cooled head 7, equipped centrally above the cylinder with an injector 8 through which fuel oil is delivered into the explosion chamber of the cylinder, and at one side is provided withv an air cylinder 9 wherein a piston 10 is adapted to be reciprocated.

The lower end of the injector 8 which extends slightly into the cylinder, has a small ignition chamber 12 therein and this opens into the cylinder through a plurality of small spray apertures 13. Leading into the upper end of the injector is a conduit '15 whereby fuel oil is'supplied to the chamber 12 through a yieldable, spring p-ressed'valve 15. The fuel oil may enter through the valve 15 into the chamber 12 during the suction stroke of the piston for four cycle engines, or on the compression stroke for two cycle engines, either by gravity pressure, by the p u e o a 1 W compressiqe :feel pu p,

not shown, or by mechanically operating the character operable by the engine.

Leading into the upper end of the chamber 12, through an aperture in the chamber wall, is the inner end of an air channel 16 which at its outer end, opens into the cylinder 9 about midway of its length.' Below this channel, and opening at its opposite ends into, the upper end of the cylinder 2 and cylinder 9, is an air channel 17.

-At its upper end the cylinder 9 is closed by an adjustable plug 18 which is threaded thereinto, and extending downwardly, concentrically within the cylinder from the plug is a stem 19, which is adapted to extend within a cylindrical bore or pocket 20 in the upper end of the piston 10 when the latter moves upwardly; the bore ofthe pocket however is slightly larger than the stem 19 so that there will not be an air-tight fit. At the lower end of the bore 20 is a laterally directed opening 21, and this is adapted to move into registration with the air channel 16 when the piston 10 reaches its upper limit of travelto provide communication between the bore and the ignition chamber 12, and into registration with the channel 17 at its lower limit of travel.

The piston 10, in the present construction,

is reciprocated by means of a rod 25 which 4 is fixed to the lower end thereof and which at its lower end is equipped with a cam roller 26 that is engageable by a cam 27 fixed on a cam shaft 28 mounted parallel with the crank shaft 5 and operated therefrom by'any suitable means, such as by belt or gear connection. In the, case of a two cycle engine, the cam shaft would be operated at the same rate of the crank shaft directly therefrom by use of eccentrics-or cams and in a four cycle engine would be operated at one half the rate thereof. In the present device, I have shown the cranlcand cam' shafts connected by means of gear wheels, indicated at 29 and 30, and an intermediate idler gear wheel 30; this being a desirable connection for four cycle engines.

.A collar 31 is fixedon the rod 25 beneath the cylinder head 7, and a spring 32, coiled about the rod bears against this collar and against the head to move the piston downwa-rdly and retain the cam roller in operative contact with the cam 27.

In the present arrangement, it is desired that the cam 27 be designed and timed to operate in such manner that the piston 10 will be moved upward quickly so that the period of injection as presently explained will take place'during travel of the crank shaft through about thirty five degrees, beginning about five degrees before it reaches the upper dead centerand continuing for thirty degrees past dead center. 1

In Figure 3 is illustrated an engine of anvalve.

other type wherein a water-cooled ignition chamber 35 is formed in the cylinderhead and this has a plurality of outlet channels 36 here shown is the same as in the-type previously described.

- Assuming that the parts are so constructed and assembled, the operation would be as follows:

Starting with the two pistons, 3 and 9, in the positions shown in Figure 2, the piston 3 moves upwardly on the compression stroke, forcing pure compressed air through the air channel 17, opening 21, and into the cylinder bore or pocket 20 and upper end of cylinder 9. When the piston 3 nears its upper-limit of travel, the cam 27 actuates the piston 10- upwardly, the air in this cylinder is trapped and super-compressed and is injected at the end of the stroke of the piston 10, at which time the opening 21 registers with the air channel 16, into the fuel ignition chamber 12.

The desired amount of super-compressed air and the resulting temperature depends on. the character of the fuel used, and should be slightly more than necessary to cause premature ignition in the fuel chamber 12, thus assisting in spraying the fuel charge into the combustion chamber, cleaning the cup of carbon and the products of combustion.

The air pump acting as a second state air size of the deadspace" is without influence upon the power necessary to drive the air pump piston for compressing a given amount .of air.

At the time this heated, highly com pressed air is injected into the fuel chamber, a partial explosion takes place which heats and evaporates the remaining fuel charge and forces it, due to the high pressure created, through the apertures 13 and into the explosion chamber at the upper end of cylinder 3 where complete vaporization and com- 7 bustion takes place under constant pressure forcing the piston outwardly.

As the warm injection air heats up and vaporizes the fuel in the chamber 12, ignition is not accompanied by refrigeration as in the case of the regular Dlesel engine ray The higher the temperature 0 the injection air the greater the velocity of ignition, atomization and time p pagation,

' pressed within the crank case is forced through a passage 38 leading therefrom into the cylinder opposite the opening 37 to blow the burned gases from the cylinder and fill the same with pure air.

On the following upward movement of the piston these openings are closed, and the compression of air is repeated as previously described.

While I have shown separate air inlet and discharge channels, 17 and 21, leadinginto the cylinder 9, it is apparent that by a construction wherein the channel 16 opened into the cylinder 9 at a point above the piston when the latter was at its lower limit of travel, and which would register with the opening 21 when the piston was at its upper limit of travel, the channel 17 need not be provided, and air from the engine cylinder would pass into the pump cylinder through the openings 13 in the injector chamber.

While I have not shown or described means for controlling the flow of fuel 'to the engine, it is apparent that this could' be controlled by the usual governor device or by any other suitable means, and the fuel to air ratio varied automatically to suit each new set of conditions created by the changing compressions under variable loads.

It is apparent that the above described construction and method of operation makes possible the building of even medium compression, heavy oil engines without applying any special starting devices such as hot bulbs, blow torches, etc., or idling devices as early or double injection, exhaust throttling, etc., and is applicable to engines of the two or four cycle type.

' In an engine so equipped, even cheap fuels, of low calorific value and which require more heat to burn them, such as are now used for firing boilers but unsuitable for Diesel engines, could be used. This includes fuels which will be derived from the distillation of coal in the future. Using a widely different range of fuels will require no change in the engine with the exception of increasing or decreasing the compression space 20 by means of plug 18 to attaln lower or higher end-temperatures for igniting the different fuels.

It is seen also that the cam operatedair compressor piston also controls the time of ignition and in thls way eliminates the usual ignition system blow torches, magnetos, wires, hot bulbs, etc., and will adapt the engine for use in automobiles, trucks, etc., where asoline engines are now used.

Having t us described my invention, what I claim as new therein'and desire to secure ,by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In an engine of the class described, in

combination, an engine cylinder having a piston mounted for reciprocation therein, a

fuel injector mounted in the cylinder head having a storage chamber therein provided with spray openings leading into the cylinder, apumpcylinder having an air inlet channel leading thereinto from the explosion chamber of the cylinder and having an air discharge channel leading therefrom into the fuel chamber, a piston mounted for reciprocation in the ump cylinder having acylindrical air p'oc et'longitudinally therein; said pocket havlng an outlet opening at its base movable respectively into registration with the air inlet and discharge channels when the piston isat its outer and inner limits -of travel, a stem mounted to be adjustably extended into said pocket, and means opera able by movement of the engine piston.for actuating the pump piston from its lower to its inner limit of travel during the latter part of the compression stroke of the engine piston, for the purpose set forth.

2. In an engine of the class described, an engine cylinder having a piston mounted for reciprocation therein, a fuel injector mounted in the cylinder head, having a fuel charge chamber therein provided with openings into the explosion chamber of the engine, a pump cylinder having an air inlet channel leading thereinto from the explosion chamber, and having an air discharge channel leading therefrom into the fuel chamber, a piston mounted for reciprocation in the pump piston and adapted to control they passage of air through said channels, means operable by the engine piston for reciprocating the pump piston to trap compressed air from the explosion chamber within the pump cylinder, to super-com 'iress said air and to discharge it into the fuel chamber, and a plug threaded into the pump cylinder end adjustable inwardly or outwardly to Vary the volume of the compression chamber for the purpose set forth.

Signed at Seattle, \Vashington. this 8th day of November, 1920/ THOMAS B. DANCKWORTT. 

